Do hummingbirds eat bugs?

We were discussing this at dinner tonight, during our early summer al fresco meal. For Mother’s Day, David and the kids gave me a small, teak, outdoor table with just enough room for four plates and glasses, and four chairs. It’s a tall table; the legs are about twice the length of the diameter of the tabletop! The chairs, likewise, are tall stools, with backs. We have been thoroughly enjoying climbing up there and dining in the fresh air amongst the roses.

Before dessert, David noticed a greenish hummingbird hovering behind me. He asked what I thought it was looking for, since it was amongst the branches of a flowerless tree. We mostly think of hummingbirds as nectar drinkers, but the kids and I had observed this behavior during lunch about a week ago, and concluded it was pursuing bugs in the shade of the tree.

In my attempt to verify this, I found an enlightening quote at hummingbirds.net:

Bob Sargent's perspective: "Hummers need nectar to power the bug eating machine that they are." Think of them as miniature flycatchers, and sugar is just the fuel for getting their real nourishment. You might try setting out some overripe fruit--banana peels are good--to attract flies for your hummers. If you have developed a particularly entertaining method of providing bugs for their dining pleasure, I'd be more than happy to publish it here. :-)

Hmmm, I don’t think we’ll be doing the banana peel thing. But our hummingbird neighbors certainly are welcome dinner guests.

Comments

[Katherine]

test comment #1
Albert Einstein: When you are courting a nice girl an hour seems like a second. When you sit on a red-hot cinder a second seems like an hour. That's relativity.
Albert Einstein